So, the potato gets a year.
Child labor gets a day.
I think we may have missed something.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Dublin Pictures - Part I
Okay, I haven't been able to edit them all, yet. But I've done some, and you can see them here.
These are some of my favorites so far.
These are some of my favorites so far.
I'd Like To Thank My Agent, God, and the Guy Who Planted Me
It is the year of the potato. And we have little creams in our coffee room to prove it.
Now, I like potatoes. I would doubt, actually, that you can find many people who like potatoes more than I do, and my family will back me up on this one. But the year of the potato? Seems a bit much, really. And it leaves me with a few questions:
1. Who decides this? It seems to be the UN, but beyond that, who knows? I mean, is it a committee? One guy in a little room somewhere? Was there a vote, and I just missed it? How do we know that the process has been fair - has there been any international oversight? At least a conference? If there's one organization who should understand a request to have the process monitored, it's the UN.
Oh, and if it's one guy in a little room somewhere, is he the one in Nashville who writes all the country music? Because that seems like he would have enough on his plate already without being responsible for things like this.
2. What's the competition based on? Potatoes are filling, and they are tasty and nourishing when prepared in a variety of ways, and if you spread one out over a plate it provides plenty of surface to hold cheese and bacon bits and whatever else you may want to toss on, but I'm not sure any of those warrant an award like this. Is it just running with other tubers? In that case, I can see it - frankly, between potatoes, carrots, and turnips I don't think you're going to get much argument.
But what if it's all foods? How do you put potatoes up against crême brulée? Or even steak? Have you noticed that it's never "potatoes and steak"? Yeah, well... there's a reason. And it could even go beyond that... can you imagine the panel sitting down, and the chairman saying, "okay, it looks like this year it's going to be a tough call: it's between potatoes, the Toyota Prius, global warming, and puppies." How do you vote on that?
3. A whole year?!? Even if the process is fair and the title is well-deserved, a year still seems like a little much. It's not as if potatoes are that new... we don't have a whole lot of educating to do here - I think that the market is already pretty well-developed. I would think Potato Month would be generous enough (though that would bring up the whole sticky issue of which one to choose) and maybe Potato Week would even do the trick. I would celebrate Potato Week, but the thought of dedicating a whole year to it leaves me just a little overwhelmed.
I don't know. But it is making me hungry.
For steak.
Now, I like potatoes. I would doubt, actually, that you can find many people who like potatoes more than I do, and my family will back me up on this one. But the year of the potato? Seems a bit much, really. And it leaves me with a few questions:
1. Who decides this? It seems to be the UN, but beyond that, who knows? I mean, is it a committee? One guy in a little room somewhere? Was there a vote, and I just missed it? How do we know that the process has been fair - has there been any international oversight? At least a conference? If there's one organization who should understand a request to have the process monitored, it's the UN.
Oh, and if it's one guy in a little room somewhere, is he the one in Nashville who writes all the country music? Because that seems like he would have enough on his plate already without being responsible for things like this.
2. What's the competition based on? Potatoes are filling, and they are tasty and nourishing when prepared in a variety of ways, and if you spread one out over a plate it provides plenty of surface to hold cheese and bacon bits and whatever else you may want to toss on, but I'm not sure any of those warrant an award like this. Is it just running with other tubers? In that case, I can see it - frankly, between potatoes, carrots, and turnips I don't think you're going to get much argument.
But what if it's all foods? How do you put potatoes up against crême brulée? Or even steak? Have you noticed that it's never "potatoes and steak"? Yeah, well... there's a reason. And it could even go beyond that... can you imagine the panel sitting down, and the chairman saying, "okay, it looks like this year it's going to be a tough call: it's between potatoes, the Toyota Prius, global warming, and puppies." How do you vote on that?
3. A whole year?!? Even if the process is fair and the title is well-deserved, a year still seems like a little much. It's not as if potatoes are that new... we don't have a whole lot of educating to do here - I think that the market is already pretty well-developed. I would think Potato Month would be generous enough (though that would bring up the whole sticky issue of which one to choose) and maybe Potato Week would even do the trick. I would celebrate Potato Week, but the thought of dedicating a whole year to it leaves me just a little overwhelmed.
I don't know. But it is making me hungry.
For steak.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Football Makes Me Sad
Portugal won.
They are very, very noisy.
Switzerland lost.
The one team I was hoping would be able to make some noise.
Go, Sweden. Rah, rah, rah.
They are very, very noisy.
Switzerland lost.
The one team I was hoping would be able to make some noise.
Go, Sweden. Rah, rah, rah.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Givenchy To The Rescue
Well, it's not the first time I've had to dig through the bathroom cabinet to find some perfume to take something off the yellow couch. Last time it was "Indecent".
This time it's Oblique.
So, two things:
1. If you have the choice, Indecent is spicy, sexy, and smells great on a couch. Oblique could have used a little more time in the old R&D.
2. I think next time I'll use my Gaultier "Le Male". At least I know I like it.
This time it's Oblique.
So, two things:
1. If you have the choice, Indecent is spicy, sexy, and smells great on a couch. Oblique could have used a little more time in the old R&D.
2. I think next time I'll use my Gaultier "Le Male". At least I know I like it.
Compliment of the Week
Actual compliment: "You wear pants well"
Likely translation: "thanks, despite your infrequent but ominous threats, for not streaking".
Likely translation: "thanks, despite your infrequent but ominous threats, for not streaking".
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rubbish
Well, it's been an interesting week for flying.
I was in Munich for a couple of days last week before heading to Dublin for holidays. There are three flights from Munich to Geneva each evening... at 5 PM, 7 PM, and 9 PM. I booked myself on the 9 to be sure I could put in a full day at the office, first. But it looks like things haven't changed much since I worked there regularly a few years ago. At that point, I would usually book the 7 PM, but the 5 would be delayed enough that I could get on it by changing my ticket at the airport. The 7 would then be very late, and the 9... well, they were lucky if they actually made it.
So it occurred to me as I looked at my 7 AM flight to go to Dublin that, perhaps, booking myself on the 9 PM back to Geneva the night before was not a great move. And it was late... very late. The Geneva airport closes at midnight, and I've had a flight actually drop us off in Lyon, France, and then we had to take buses back because we were too late. Well, we got in at about 12:15, but they kept it open for us.
Going to Dublin (via London) was a worry because my flights were with two different companies, so if Geneva/London was delayed, the London/Dublin people really, really wouldn't care. Or compensate me. Or make sure I get there later. So I was pretty happy when that went okay. And getting from Dublin back to London was smooth and easy, too.
The problem came when Science Nathan and I were sitting down for a burger before our London/Geneva flight. We had checked in, but decided to eat before security. As Nathan was waiting for his food, I sat down and was a bit surprised at the sound coming from the arcade across the concourse... it sounded suspiciously like a fire bell. Curious that they would allow that in a public place like this, I thought - it could be a problem if people heard it and actually thought it was an alarm.
Well, turns out it was an alarm. Before long, we could hear the classic British announcement... in a calm, polite tone: "Please be aware that a fire alarm has been sounded in this area, and you are advised to evacuate immediately".
But there didn't seem to be any fire... and it was upstairs (and we were downstairs - just by the escalators so we could hear it), and there was, after a while, a security guy there who didn't look very concerned. So we waited, and watched.
And waited, and waited, and waited.
The check-in/security areas were evacuated and closed off for some time. And we ended up getting home late... once again, after the airport actually closed. But we did make it, and I'm pretty sure there was no fire. The highlight, though, was the guy sitting just behind us while we waited, talking to a couple of young American tourists.
"Well, it's simply rubbish," he said, "there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to identify the location of the alarm, to determine the nature of the threat, and then to make an appropriate response and announcement in 15 minutes flat". And he carried on in a similar, knowing kind of vein for a good ten minutes or so.
He was, of course, a meteorologist.
I hesitate to even put this in, because it was so, so good, and I am failing so miserably at capturing it. But he was just so... English. It was wonderful. I mean, he was utterly ridiculous, but in a really transporting kind of way. It made the whole delay worthwhile.
But now it's good to be at home... for the first time in a few weeks, I will have a while week here, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Oh, and in other news - I just looked out my window because it sounded like there was a fight on the street. But it's actually my neighbours, who, I gather, are watching soccer. The Euro cup is on again.
Hooray.
Go, Finland.
I was in Munich for a couple of days last week before heading to Dublin for holidays. There are three flights from Munich to Geneva each evening... at 5 PM, 7 PM, and 9 PM. I booked myself on the 9 to be sure I could put in a full day at the office, first. But it looks like things haven't changed much since I worked there regularly a few years ago. At that point, I would usually book the 7 PM, but the 5 would be delayed enough that I could get on it by changing my ticket at the airport. The 7 would then be very late, and the 9... well, they were lucky if they actually made it.
So it occurred to me as I looked at my 7 AM flight to go to Dublin that, perhaps, booking myself on the 9 PM back to Geneva the night before was not a great move. And it was late... very late. The Geneva airport closes at midnight, and I've had a flight actually drop us off in Lyon, France, and then we had to take buses back because we were too late. Well, we got in at about 12:15, but they kept it open for us.
Going to Dublin (via London) was a worry because my flights were with two different companies, so if Geneva/London was delayed, the London/Dublin people really, really wouldn't care. Or compensate me. Or make sure I get there later. So I was pretty happy when that went okay. And getting from Dublin back to London was smooth and easy, too.
The problem came when Science Nathan and I were sitting down for a burger before our London/Geneva flight. We had checked in, but decided to eat before security. As Nathan was waiting for his food, I sat down and was a bit surprised at the sound coming from the arcade across the concourse... it sounded suspiciously like a fire bell. Curious that they would allow that in a public place like this, I thought - it could be a problem if people heard it and actually thought it was an alarm.
Well, turns out it was an alarm. Before long, we could hear the classic British announcement... in a calm, polite tone: "Please be aware that a fire alarm has been sounded in this area, and you are advised to evacuate immediately".
But there didn't seem to be any fire... and it was upstairs (and we were downstairs - just by the escalators so we could hear it), and there was, after a while, a security guy there who didn't look very concerned. So we waited, and watched.
And waited, and waited, and waited.
The check-in/security areas were evacuated and closed off for some time. And we ended up getting home late... once again, after the airport actually closed. But we did make it, and I'm pretty sure there was no fire. The highlight, though, was the guy sitting just behind us while we waited, talking to a couple of young American tourists.
"Well, it's simply rubbish," he said, "there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to identify the location of the alarm, to determine the nature of the threat, and then to make an appropriate response and announcement in 15 minutes flat". And he carried on in a similar, knowing kind of vein for a good ten minutes or so.
He was, of course, a meteorologist.
I hesitate to even put this in, because it was so, so good, and I am failing so miserably at capturing it. But he was just so... English. It was wonderful. I mean, he was utterly ridiculous, but in a really transporting kind of way. It made the whole delay worthwhile.
But now it's good to be at home... for the first time in a few weeks, I will have a while week here, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Oh, and in other news - I just looked out my window because it sounded like there was a fight on the street. But it's actually my neighbours, who, I gather, are watching soccer. The Euro cup is on again.
Hooray.
Go, Finland.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Hi - My Name Is Darryl and I'm From the Plane
So, I like it here. And by here, I mean Ireland; Dublin, actually.
We just arrived yesterday and, as the myth goes, the Guinness really does taste better here... not as bitter, and yes, I am sure it is not just my imagination. I was expecting that to be a real hoax, but it's true.
But besides that, the people are so, so friendly. Everyone I've talked to (and, when you get lost as much as I do, you get the chance to talk to a lot of people) has been incredibly helpful and cheery. No one has given me wrong directions just for the fun of it. And a lot of them even smile when we're talking. Plus, they have the coolest accent. And really, really good beer.
And not just the Irish are friendly - as I was shooting today, I had a couple of Italian men (one with a very, very small dog) come up to me to ask about my gear. They knew by site the lens I was using (nerds!) and we chatted for a while about pictures, about gear, and about why everything costs twice as much here as it does in the US. And, on that note, one of them offered to buy the lens from me for as much as I had paid for it (well, it and a few other little accesories). It was pretty funny - I thought he was joking, but he kept offering. I didn't go for it, and thankfully they didn't sic the little dog on me. That could have been a problem.
We did have another little dog who caused a bit of trouble later in the day, though. As we were looking around at a church, Katie and Robyn decided (naturally) that they would like to roll down a grassy hill. Which, given the options you may have when faced with the question of what to do with a grassy hill, in general, is not a bad choice. Anyways, they did, much to the consternation of a small and rather aggressive dog across the lawn. He came tearing over, threatening to nip at the heels of the poor girls, until I stepped on him and killed him.
Actually, I didn't - his owners came over and collected him. But it would have made for a better story. Oh well.
Before that, I was in Munich, again. I worked there for quite a while, a few years ago. And you know what? I never thought I would say it, but it was good to be back. I like the Germans... their food, the way they look, their architecture, the language. Yeah... it's been a good week.
Hmmmm.... we have dinner plans and I need to go. But I'll try to update you a little more on the trip tomorrow. Happy weekend, all!
We just arrived yesterday and, as the myth goes, the Guinness really does taste better here... not as bitter, and yes, I am sure it is not just my imagination. I was expecting that to be a real hoax, but it's true.
But besides that, the people are so, so friendly. Everyone I've talked to (and, when you get lost as much as I do, you get the chance to talk to a lot of people) has been incredibly helpful and cheery. No one has given me wrong directions just for the fun of it. And a lot of them even smile when we're talking. Plus, they have the coolest accent. And really, really good beer.
And not just the Irish are friendly - as I was shooting today, I had a couple of Italian men (one with a very, very small dog) come up to me to ask about my gear. They knew by site the lens I was using (nerds!) and we chatted for a while about pictures, about gear, and about why everything costs twice as much here as it does in the US. And, on that note, one of them offered to buy the lens from me for as much as I had paid for it (well, it and a few other little accesories). It was pretty funny - I thought he was joking, but he kept offering. I didn't go for it, and thankfully they didn't sic the little dog on me. That could have been a problem.
We did have another little dog who caused a bit of trouble later in the day, though. As we were looking around at a church, Katie and Robyn decided (naturally) that they would like to roll down a grassy hill. Which, given the options you may have when faced with the question of what to do with a grassy hill, in general, is not a bad choice. Anyways, they did, much to the consternation of a small and rather aggressive dog across the lawn. He came tearing over, threatening to nip at the heels of the poor girls, until I stepped on him and killed him.
Actually, I didn't - his owners came over and collected him. But it would have made for a better story. Oh well.
Before that, I was in Munich, again. I worked there for quite a while, a few years ago. And you know what? I never thought I would say it, but it was good to be back. I like the Germans... their food, the way they look, their architecture, the language. Yeah... it's been a good week.
Hmmmm.... we have dinner plans and I need to go. But I'll try to update you a little more on the trip tomorrow. Happy weekend, all!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Parallel Universe
At dinner tonight, it occurred to me that something was wrong. And it was this: I was using broccoli to try and encourage the little chick to eat her pizza.
Yes, as in "I want you to eat this bit of pizza, and then I will give you more broccoli."
I think it was probably the ranch dressing. I guess if I would have just put that on the pizza I wouldn't have had any trouble at all....
Yes, as in "I want you to eat this bit of pizza, and then I will give you more broccoli."
I think it was probably the ranch dressing. I guess if I would have just put that on the pizza I wouldn't have had any trouble at all....
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Are You Engaged?
I'm not sure what it is, but the last two times I've been out shooting, I've had people come up to me and want to talk. Now, I'm not opposed to that - not exactly used to it in Geneva (though there were a lot of people who wanted to know more about what I was doing in Stockholm), but it's kind of fun.
I'm starting to think that it could be a good way to make new friends, should I ever find myself in short supply. There have been a couple of guys who have come up, despite my headphones being in and game face on, and talked for a while and then offered to get me a drink at a cafe if I was up for it. In both cases I wasn't - I had some specific shooting I wanted to do with limited time - but it was pretty friendly, I thought.
Now before someone makes a reference to my fellow concert-goers for the Kylie show, let me just say that I'm pretty sure these guys were not Kylie fans. They were in different cities, but both said more or less the same thing - that they really liked meeting new people from different places, and made a habit of just going out to see who they could find, having a drink with them, and just making new friends.
It occurred to me that it's not that different from what I do with my pictures, in some ways. And there are probably some people (like me) who wouldn't feel strange about taking pictures of total strangers, but would be a bit freaked out by just going and starting conversations with random interesting-looking people in the street. There are others who would probably feel the opposite.
Curious.
Anyways, I guess I'm happy to be counted among those who look interesting enough for people to stop and talk to in a language that's not their own. I always feel like I should give them candy or something after, but I'm not sure that's a healthy instinct.
Anyways, what I was shooting for in Geneva (and where I got the title for this post... for those following along at home, I am not, in fact, that kind of engaged) is a local community outreach program called engaGE (since, "GE" is the abbreviation for the canton of Geneva). It encourages people to get involved in helping the homeless, the lonely, and others who need a hand in their city. You can keep an eye on their site, and eventually you may see a few of my shots popping up.
I'm starting to think that it could be a good way to make new friends, should I ever find myself in short supply. There have been a couple of guys who have come up, despite my headphones being in and game face on, and talked for a while and then offered to get me a drink at a cafe if I was up for it. In both cases I wasn't - I had some specific shooting I wanted to do with limited time - but it was pretty friendly, I thought.
Now before someone makes a reference to my fellow concert-goers for the Kylie show, let me just say that I'm pretty sure these guys were not Kylie fans. They were in different cities, but both said more or less the same thing - that they really liked meeting new people from different places, and made a habit of just going out to see who they could find, having a drink with them, and just making new friends.
It occurred to me that it's not that different from what I do with my pictures, in some ways. And there are probably some people (like me) who wouldn't feel strange about taking pictures of total strangers, but would be a bit freaked out by just going and starting conversations with random interesting-looking people in the street. There are others who would probably feel the opposite.
Curious.
Anyways, I guess I'm happy to be counted among those who look interesting enough for people to stop and talk to in a language that's not their own. I always feel like I should give them candy or something after, but I'm not sure that's a healthy instinct.
Anyways, what I was shooting for in Geneva (and where I got the title for this post... for those following along at home, I am not, in fact, that kind of engaged) is a local community outreach program called engaGE (since, "GE" is the abbreviation for the canton of Geneva). It encourages people to get involved in helping the homeless, the lonely, and others who need a hand in their city. You can keep an eye on their site, and eventually you may see a few of my shots popping up.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Kylie
So, I went to see her last night. It was a good show, but I must admit - for a concert, I felt a little out of my element.
It wasn't the music - that was pretty good. The staging was great, the costumes and choreography were incredible. I even had my usual spot (front, middle, on the rail).
I think it was that, as I looked around, it was just a different crowd than I see at most shows. I was sharing the spot at the front with a lot of other men, which I hadn't quite anticipated. And the vast majority of them had good tans, sleeveless shirts, carefully manicured facial hair and very expensive glasses. I felt just a tiny bit out of place.
In fact, I kept having these visions of it turning into one of those things like in a magic show where they need a volunteer, or at a comedy show, where the comedian starts to work the audience. I just imagined the music stopping, and the spotlight swinging directly to me, with a caption going onto the big screens: "Here's the straight one".
They would start to pepper me with questions to try to prove my guilt:
"Quick - spell Issey Miyake!"
"How does the Sex In The City movie end?"
"Where's the best place to go dancing in Geneva? WHERE?"
And I would just crumble under the pressure. I wasn't even sure what would happen then... would they kick me out? Make me wear a tank top? Or worse - get me to dance?
Yeah, I didn't know which direction it would go, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty. Thankfully, I was able to make it through without attracting too much attention.
Plus, I got a pretty cool tee shirt. And that, after all, is what concerts are all about.
It wasn't the music - that was pretty good. The staging was great, the costumes and choreography were incredible. I even had my usual spot (front, middle, on the rail).
I think it was that, as I looked around, it was just a different crowd than I see at most shows. I was sharing the spot at the front with a lot of other men, which I hadn't quite anticipated. And the vast majority of them had good tans, sleeveless shirts, carefully manicured facial hair and very expensive glasses. I felt just a tiny bit out of place.
In fact, I kept having these visions of it turning into one of those things like in a magic show where they need a volunteer, or at a comedy show, where the comedian starts to work the audience. I just imagined the music stopping, and the spotlight swinging directly to me, with a caption going onto the big screens: "Here's the straight one".
They would start to pepper me with questions to try to prove my guilt:
"Quick - spell Issey Miyake!"
"How does the Sex In The City movie end?"
"Where's the best place to go dancing in Geneva? WHERE?"
And I would just crumble under the pressure. I wasn't even sure what would happen then... would they kick me out? Make me wear a tank top? Or worse - get me to dance?
Yeah, I didn't know which direction it would go, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty. Thankfully, I was able to make it through without attracting too much attention.
Plus, I got a pretty cool tee shirt. And that, after all, is what concerts are all about.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Shiny
I was thinking this morning... a couple of years ago, I got a birthday gift from a friend... it was a cool little shoe-shine kit in a nice leather case. As she gave it to me, she said, "I wasn't sure what to give you... but I was talking to another friend and we were commenting on how your shoes are always in such good shape, so I got you this."
Well, I thought (and still think) that it was a very kind and thoughtful gift.
But it occurred to me this morning... if my shoes are always in good shape, wouldn't it be a pretty safe bet that I already had the stuff to shine them?
Curious.
Anyways, it's not my birthday now, so please don't read this as some kind of hint for you to send gifts (as if you need a reason), but I was putting away some shoes this morning that, to my shame, do need to be shined.
Good thing I've got the kit!
Well, I thought (and still think) that it was a very kind and thoughtful gift.
But it occurred to me this morning... if my shoes are always in good shape, wouldn't it be a pretty safe bet that I already had the stuff to shine them?
Curious.
Anyways, it's not my birthday now, so please don't read this as some kind of hint for you to send gifts (as if you need a reason), but I was putting away some shoes this morning that, to my shame, do need to be shined.
Good thing I've got the kit!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Jet Lag
So, jet lag is a bit of a killer.
There were a lot of 4 AM mornings for me last week, which is part of the reason that there were not a lot of blog entries. Jet lag is tricky when you're an adult who understands it and even should be well-traveled enough to have some tricks to deal with it. It seems, though, that it can be even more complex when you're three, and you Daddy is telling you it's time to sleep but your body is pretty sure that's not quite right.
Anyways, the week went really well - some great time with family, wonderful visits with friends, a few junior bacon cheeseburgers and Jon & Erin's wedding was great.
Needless to say, the little chick was more or less the star of the show. Well, except for Erin, but that's probably how it should be.
She was the flower girl, and she had an amazing little princess dress that my mom found for her, complete with veil, and some beautiful little white shoes with light but colorful embroidery on them. Her hair was after-the-bath curly, and she was in a pretty great mood. Our multiple practices of walking down the aisle the night before paid off, and when her turn came, she looked a bit nervous but walked down slowly, just like she was supposed to, helped to keep track of her cousin, who was the ring-bearer, and made her way to the front.
Then she saw me, and in the quiet of anticipation for the bride, this little voice rang out "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" as she threw herself up onto the stage and into my arms. It was amazing.
I took some pictures.... these are my favorites, but you can see the rest here.
There were a lot of 4 AM mornings for me last week, which is part of the reason that there were not a lot of blog entries. Jet lag is tricky when you're an adult who understands it and even should be well-traveled enough to have some tricks to deal with it. It seems, though, that it can be even more complex when you're three, and you Daddy is telling you it's time to sleep but your body is pretty sure that's not quite right.
Anyways, the week went really well - some great time with family, wonderful visits with friends, a few junior bacon cheeseburgers and Jon & Erin's wedding was great.
Needless to say, the little chick was more or less the star of the show. Well, except for Erin, but that's probably how it should be.
She was the flower girl, and she had an amazing little princess dress that my mom found for her, complete with veil, and some beautiful little white shoes with light but colorful embroidery on them. Her hair was after-the-bath curly, and she was in a pretty great mood. Our multiple practices of walking down the aisle the night before paid off, and when her turn came, she looked a bit nervous but walked down slowly, just like she was supposed to, helped to keep track of her cousin, who was the ring-bearer, and made her way to the front.
Then she saw me, and in the quiet of anticipation for the bride, this little voice rang out "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" as she threw herself up onto the stage and into my arms. It was amazing.
I took some pictures.... these are my favorites, but you can see the rest here.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sheila
I was thinking that a sheila was a female kangaroo, and that made me wonder if anyone was actually named that in Australia.
But I looked it up, and it's actually slang for a woman.
So, my question remains. But besides that, the fact is that the Aussies have the best slang in the world. Take these examples:
Bluey : pack, equipment, traffic ticket, redhead
Bluey : blue cattle dog (named after its subtle markings) which is an excellent working dog. Everyone's favourite all-Aussie dog.
Bluey : heavy wool or felt jacket worn by mining and construction workers.
Bluey : bluebottle jellyfish
Bingle : motor vehicle accident
Bonzer : great, ripper
Budgie smugglers : men's bathing costume
And those are just the highlights of the B's!
Once again, I fear that I may have been born on the wrong continent...
But I looked it up, and it's actually slang for a woman.
So, my question remains. But besides that, the fact is that the Aussies have the best slang in the world. Take these examples:
Bluey : pack, equipment, traffic ticket, redhead
Bluey : blue cattle dog (named after its subtle markings) which is an excellent working dog. Everyone's favourite all-Aussie dog.
Bluey : heavy wool or felt jacket worn by mining and construction workers.
Bluey : bluebottle jellyfish
Bingle : motor vehicle accident
Bonzer : great, ripper
Budgie smugglers : men's bathing costume
And those are just the highlights of the B's!
Once again, I fear that I may have been born on the wrong continent...
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Good Little Traveler
A while ago, I was considering joining a blues band. I don't know what I was thinking... I really don't like blues. I guess I just like to play; thankfully, the band never got off the ground, so it saved me the trouble of having to figure it out the hard way.
Anyways, I thought that "Good Little Traveler" would be a great name for a blues band. And it's based, as you may have guessed, on the little chick.
Well, we're in Canada now, which is what reminded me of this. She did great on the flight, but it was almost a close call. Even though I bought an adult ticket and an accompanying child at the same time, they had our seats reserved for a dozen rows apart.
"Why," you ask? Who knows.
Anyways, the guy at the Geneva airport noticed it, but didn't have access to the Air Canada seat system, so sent a message on to Frankfurt. When I got there, they managed to get us in two aisle seats, one behind the other. I guess if I would have waited, I could have flagged down an attendant to try to change the seating, but I figured I'd give it a go, first. I thought maybe we could sit side by side in the middle section, and the person who had a middle seat beside me would be happy to trade for an aisle in the row in front. Ideally, we could even trade out to a side section where there are only 2 seats... much easier to keep the little chick contained if there's a wall on the other side.
So, it turns out that asking older Germans to trade seats is kind of a pointless exercise. They either didn't understand why I felt I needed to be next to my three year-old daughter, or they grasped that, but failed to see what it had to do with them. I tried a few people, and no one was willing to part with their previously-assigned seat. Alrighty, then.
Eventually, I noticed a woman in the side section a few rows in front of us. I went and asked her if she spoke English... and she did.
Good start.
I explained what had happened, and asked if she'd be willing to take one of our seats. She said "of course" and, in fact, was packing up and ready to go before I even finished explaining. Then I just hoped the other person who was supposed to be by a window would be just as understanding.
Thankfully, she was. She said she was flying solo on this trip, but had had the same thing happen with her kids before, and was happy to help. And the little chick did just great.
So it makes me wonder... when they get two tickets booked at the same time, on the same credit card, do they do some kind of seat lottery to see where to put them? Or was there someone who looked at our names and ages, and figured that I might like to have a break on this flight? Either way, it seems a bit strange. I'm glad it worked out.
We're enjoying being back... and, despite the jet lag, have had a wonderful couple of days so far. I think it's going to be a good week.
How have you been?
Anyways, I thought that "Good Little Traveler" would be a great name for a blues band. And it's based, as you may have guessed, on the little chick.
Well, we're in Canada now, which is what reminded me of this. She did great on the flight, but it was almost a close call. Even though I bought an adult ticket and an accompanying child at the same time, they had our seats reserved for a dozen rows apart.
"Why," you ask? Who knows.
Anyways, the guy at the Geneva airport noticed it, but didn't have access to the Air Canada seat system, so sent a message on to Frankfurt. When I got there, they managed to get us in two aisle seats, one behind the other. I guess if I would have waited, I could have flagged down an attendant to try to change the seating, but I figured I'd give it a go, first. I thought maybe we could sit side by side in the middle section, and the person who had a middle seat beside me would be happy to trade for an aisle in the row in front. Ideally, we could even trade out to a side section where there are only 2 seats... much easier to keep the little chick contained if there's a wall on the other side.
So, it turns out that asking older Germans to trade seats is kind of a pointless exercise. They either didn't understand why I felt I needed to be next to my three year-old daughter, or they grasped that, but failed to see what it had to do with them. I tried a few people, and no one was willing to part with their previously-assigned seat. Alrighty, then.
Eventually, I noticed a woman in the side section a few rows in front of us. I went and asked her if she spoke English... and she did.
Good start.
I explained what had happened, and asked if she'd be willing to take one of our seats. She said "of course" and, in fact, was packing up and ready to go before I even finished explaining. Then I just hoped the other person who was supposed to be by a window would be just as understanding.
Thankfully, she was. She said she was flying solo on this trip, but had had the same thing happen with her kids before, and was happy to help. And the little chick did just great.
So it makes me wonder... when they get two tickets booked at the same time, on the same credit card, do they do some kind of seat lottery to see where to put them? Or was there someone who looked at our names and ages, and figured that I might like to have a break on this flight? Either way, it seems a bit strange. I'm glad it worked out.
We're enjoying being back... and, despite the jet lag, have had a wonderful couple of days so far. I think it's going to be a good week.
How have you been?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Choosing A Camera: Part II - The Bad News
[To see the other posts in this series, click on the creatively-titled "choosing a camera" label at the bottom of this post]
So, what do you want to do with your camera?
And why did I start off by saying it's bad news?
Well, here's the thing. There are two things that small cameras (digicams) are good for:
1. Keeping with you
2. Taking pictures rather unobtrusively
So if you what you want to do is to take pictures wherever, whenever, with as little hassle as possible and be kind of discreet while doing it, your problems are solved. For everyone else, please keep reading.
The bad news for the rest of us is that that's a very, very short list and, as far as I can tell, it's more or less exhaustive. Which may mean that you need a DSLR, with the expense and complication that that entails.
After having time with both, here's what I can tell you: given the same skill of the person who's holding it, the DSLR just makes better pictures, more reliably, with less work, every time. This may not matter to you - it mattered a lot to me. For most people, a smaller, inexpensive, less complicated camera seems like the way to go. And, for you, it may be. Try my checklist and see how you fare:
You may want a digicam if:
You'll need a DSLR if:
If you're somewhere in the middle, then you may be able to get away with a superzoom.
So, there are a couple of significant points that need to be explained here, for this to really make sense:
First, why does a DSLR make better pictures than a digicam? There are a couple of reasons:
That leads us to the other tricky point: how can a camera with all those settings, with lenses you have to attach, make it less work to take pictures? Well, it doesn't. But it makes it less work to take great pictures, and here's why:
Some of what makes a great picture great is the subject. Some of it is the composition. Some of it is how the light is focused (the lenses) and recorded (the sensor). But a lot of it is in what you do after the picture is taken. Are the colors flat? Does it look dull and washed out? Maybe the black bits have little specs in them and don't look really black. All of this needs to be fixed in post-processing, in a tool like Photoshop.
Well, some of the pictures from my camera look great straight out out of the camera. But with a digicam, odds are good you're going to have to tweak more, to buy some more software to take out the noise (the little light bits where it's just supposed to be dark)... it takes more work to get it to anything approaching the same level of quality, and even with that, it won't ever get to you where a good lens and basic DSLR body will. So the DSLR may be a bit more work (once) to set up, but the "convenient" digicam will suck minutes off of your life with every picture that needs to be manipulated more to get it to be the way you want.
So - to sum it up, if you're not too fussy about how your images turn out, if you use them in fairly low-demand ways (small snapshot prints, email), if you want something cheap because you'll probably wreck/lose it, or if you just need something very, very compact or discreet, then a digicam (or maybe superzoom) is the way to go.
Otherwise, you may as well start looking for a second job.
Next, we'll look at how to choose a compact camera, if that's the family that will meet your needs.
So, what do you want to do with your camera?
And why did I start off by saying it's bad news?
Well, here's the thing. There are two things that small cameras (digicams) are good for:
1. Keeping with you
2. Taking pictures rather unobtrusively
So if you what you want to do is to take pictures wherever, whenever, with as little hassle as possible and be kind of discreet while doing it, your problems are solved. For everyone else, please keep reading.
The bad news for the rest of us is that that's a very, very short list and, as far as I can tell, it's more or less exhaustive. Which may mean that you need a DSLR, with the expense and complication that that entails.
After having time with both, here's what I can tell you: given the same skill of the person who's holding it, the DSLR just makes better pictures, more reliably, with less work, every time. This may not matter to you - it mattered a lot to me. For most people, a smaller, inexpensive, less complicated camera seems like the way to go. And, for you, it may be. Try my checklist and see how you fare:
You may want a digicam if:
- You lose stuff a lot and aren't insured (you can substitute "lose" with "immerse", "broil", "drop", "accidentally bury" or "run over", as needed)
- You won't carry anything with you that's any bigger than it has to be
- You figure your phone actually takes pretty good pictures
- You mostly just want to email your pictures or put them on facebook
- You spend a lot of time in Barcelona or other places where, eventually, everything you are carrying will be stolen
- A picture is a picture... who cares?
You'll need a DSLR if:
- If you look at other people's pictures and think "why don't mine look like that?!?"
- You want to put your pictures up without people knowing right away that you took them yourself
- You have tech-lust
- You want to take pictures of birds, planes, or other things that are far, far away
- You have someone to carry stuff for you (commonly referred to as a "husband")
- Take beauty seriously, and get a little pissed off when it's messed with
If you're somewhere in the middle, then you may be able to get away with a superzoom.
So, there are a couple of significant points that need to be explained here, for this to really make sense:
First, why does a DSLR make better pictures than a digicam? There are a couple of reasons:
- Better "glass" - you get what you pay for, and most lenses alone for a DSLR cost quite a bit more than most compact cameras. The lenses let more light in, are manufactured to much higher standards, and are more complex... as a result, everything that goes through them looks better on the other side
- Bigger (and better) sensors - the number of megapixels is not really a great indicator of how a camera will perform. My 6MP Nikon will take far, far better pictures than any compact 10-12 megapixel camera you can buy. Why? The number of megapixels describes how much information the camera stores to record the light coming in, but think of it like type on a page: as you get more, you can get a more detailed "story"... to a point. But eventually, the type gets so squeezed together on the page that it overlaps, and instead of giving you a more detailed view, gets a bit jumbled. Well, as you increase the number of megapixels but keep a small sensor size, you lose detail and also gain a lot of noise.
That leads us to the other tricky point: how can a camera with all those settings, with lenses you have to attach, make it less work to take pictures? Well, it doesn't. But it makes it less work to take great pictures, and here's why:
Some of what makes a great picture great is the subject. Some of it is the composition. Some of it is how the light is focused (the lenses) and recorded (the sensor). But a lot of it is in what you do after the picture is taken. Are the colors flat? Does it look dull and washed out? Maybe the black bits have little specs in them and don't look really black. All of this needs to be fixed in post-processing, in a tool like Photoshop.
Well, some of the pictures from my camera look great straight out out of the camera. But with a digicam, odds are good you're going to have to tweak more, to buy some more software to take out the noise (the little light bits where it's just supposed to be dark)... it takes more work to get it to anything approaching the same level of quality, and even with that, it won't ever get to you where a good lens and basic DSLR body will. So the DSLR may be a bit more work (once) to set up, but the "convenient" digicam will suck minutes off of your life with every picture that needs to be manipulated more to get it to be the way you want.
So - to sum it up, if you're not too fussy about how your images turn out, if you use them in fairly low-demand ways (small snapshot prints, email), if you want something cheap because you'll probably wreck/lose it, or if you just need something very, very compact or discreet, then a digicam (or maybe superzoom) is the way to go.
Otherwise, you may as well start looking for a second job.
Next, we'll look at how to choose a compact camera, if that's the family that will meet your needs.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Horse Fair
We went to a horse fair today with some friends in France. It had everything you could want in a fair: line dancing, plenty of facial hair and.... uh, horses.
I took a couple of pictures. I thought maybe you would like these ones:
You can see the others here.
I took a couple of pictures. I thought maybe you would like these ones:
You can see the others here.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Cow Wrestling
Yes, you read it right. It's a fascinating insight into Swiss culture, and it's on TV right now, complete with slow-motion replays of the cows digging in the "ring", standing side by side, apparently unaware that they are supposed to be locked in fierce combat, and wearing huge bells. It's like Sumo, but without all the rice-throwing.
I'm recording it, so if you live in Calgary (or Geneva, for that matter) you may, at some point, have the pleasure of watching it in all of it's "wow, did they really put this on TV?" glory.
And I'd like it to be noted and added to my cultural sensitivity score that I didn't put culture into ironic quotes in the first paragraph. I should be a diplomat, or something.
Oh, and for those of you unable to wait for the full version with slow-motion replays, interviews with the farmers and their families (none actually with the cows yet, but I'm keeping a close eye out), and what I'm sure is riveting commentary, you can get a taste here:
I'm recording it, so if you live in Calgary (or Geneva, for that matter) you may, at some point, have the pleasure of watching it in all of it's "wow, did they really put this on TV?" glory.
And I'd like it to be noted and added to my cultural sensitivity score that I didn't put culture into ironic quotes in the first paragraph. I should be a diplomat, or something.
Oh, and for those of you unable to wait for the full version with slow-motion replays, interviews with the farmers and their families (none actually with the cows yet, but I'm keeping a close eye out), and what I'm sure is riveting commentary, you can get a taste here:
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sammy Or David?
Yes, I'm a child of the 80's. But walking around in the sunshine listening to Panama followed up by Why Can't This Be Love is just a beautiful thing, no matter who you prefer.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Anti
Ligue Contre La Rheumatism Vaudoise
I pass it every time I go to work in Lausanne. I may not be spelling it quite right, but that's just because it's French. The rough translation is the league against rheumatism in Vaud (one of the Swiss cantons). And there are two things that it makes me wonder:
First, it is, in a very French way, rather aggressive. But, that said, it's a more appropriate name than we usually use in English. Think about it... who are the anti-tobacco nazis in Canada? It's the Canadian Cancer Society. Shouldn't that mean that they're in favor of it?
The other thing it makes me wonder is this: Vaud is not really, in a global sense, that huge a place. There are only about 600,000 people. Do you think that Rheumatism (or their valiant struggle against it) is unique enough that they need their own society? I'm not suggesting that we leave the rheumatic vaudois and vaudoise to their own devices. But maybe there's someone who'd be willing to help.
I pass it every time I go to work in Lausanne. I may not be spelling it quite right, but that's just because it's French. The rough translation is the league against rheumatism in Vaud (one of the Swiss cantons). And there are two things that it makes me wonder:
First, it is, in a very French way, rather aggressive. But, that said, it's a more appropriate name than we usually use in English. Think about it... who are the anti-tobacco nazis in Canada? It's the Canadian Cancer Society. Shouldn't that mean that they're in favor of it?
The other thing it makes me wonder is this: Vaud is not really, in a global sense, that huge a place. There are only about 600,000 people. Do you think that Rheumatism (or their valiant struggle against it) is unique enough that they need their own society? I'm not suggesting that we leave the rheumatic vaudois and vaudoise to their own devices. But maybe there's someone who'd be willing to help.
I Don't Know Who I Am, Anymore
Well, I have a friend who just did the Myers-Briggs thing (MBTI), and so I decided to revisit mine as well.
And I'm shocked. Here are the results... you may want to sit down for this:
Well, there goes my ENFJ label. I'm not a J, I'm a P!
So I'm guessing that Miss Spitfire, anonymous, and a couple others are following this with interest, and probably quite a few of you are just idly wondering if I've posted more pictures at the bottom or not. Sorry, no. But maybe it will help if I explain a bit.
You see, the J stands for "judging" and the p for "perceiving". But they don't really mean what you would usually guess from the words (whether someone is judgmental or preceptive - hardly an even set of options on offer there!). In fact, they indicate if you prefer more open-ended situations (perceiving) or are happier with structure (judging). Or, alternately, do you tend to flit about like an artist (P) or should you be working for P&G (J).
Well, I guess this changes for me, day to day and situation to situation. At work, I crave flexibility. If an interesting opportunity comes up, something that suits me and that I could really nail, I want to be free to pursue it. In terms of how much mess I'm happy to live in at home... bring on the structure, baby. In any case, today - or lately - it appears I've been moving away from valuing that structure, planning, and step-by-stepness to embracing the chaos. Or, at least, a little more flexibility.
This proves, anonymous, that I am NOT fussy. Used to be, maybe. But not any more - I'm a new man now!
Well, the second thing that is interesting is the "multiple intelligences" test. I'll tell you, I was thrilled with the suggestion that I would even have one. But several? Yeah, baby!
You'll notice (or, more likely, I'll point out) that my scores for my second and third place intelligences are tied. And they are for intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence. Here, then, are the characteristics I am likely to have.
I am (since I'm so interpersonally adept):
* Extroverted
* Enjoy social events, groups and crowds
* Enjoying teaching others, like to counsel others
* Have many friends
* Enjoy team sports (?!?)
* Love meeting new people
* Cooperative in groups
* Empathetic, sensitive to others' moods
And (due to my unquestionable intrapersonal strength):
* Introverted
* Prefers working alone, independent
* Philosophical
* Perfectionistic
* Often thinks of self-employment
* Enjoys journaling
* Intuitive
* Spends time thinking and reflecting, self-aware, likes learning about self
So, this could go one of two ways. Either it's a bit of a joke since it's tough to be many points on both those lists, or I am up for just about anything.
Guess which option I'm picking?
Have a good weekend, everybody. Thanks for reading.
And I'm shocked. Here are the results... you may want to sit down for this:
Well, there goes my ENFJ label. I'm not a J, I'm a P!
So I'm guessing that Miss Spitfire, anonymous, and a couple others are following this with interest, and probably quite a few of you are just idly wondering if I've posted more pictures at the bottom or not. Sorry, no. But maybe it will help if I explain a bit.
You see, the J stands for "judging" and the p for "perceiving". But they don't really mean what you would usually guess from the words (whether someone is judgmental or preceptive - hardly an even set of options on offer there!). In fact, they indicate if you prefer more open-ended situations (perceiving) or are happier with structure (judging). Or, alternately, do you tend to flit about like an artist (P) or should you be working for P&G (J).
Well, I guess this changes for me, day to day and situation to situation. At work, I crave flexibility. If an interesting opportunity comes up, something that suits me and that I could really nail, I want to be free to pursue it. In terms of how much mess I'm happy to live in at home... bring on the structure, baby. In any case, today - or lately - it appears I've been moving away from valuing that structure, planning, and step-by-stepness to embracing the chaos. Or, at least, a little more flexibility.
This proves, anonymous, that I am NOT fussy. Used to be, maybe. But not any more - I'm a new man now!
Well, the second thing that is interesting is the "multiple intelligences" test. I'll tell you, I was thrilled with the suggestion that I would even have one. But several? Yeah, baby!
You'll notice (or, more likely, I'll point out) that my scores for my second and third place intelligences are tied. And they are for intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence. Here, then, are the characteristics I am likely to have.
I am (since I'm so interpersonally adept):
* Extroverted
* Enjoy social events, groups and crowds
* Enjoying teaching others, like to counsel others
* Have many friends
* Enjoy team sports (?!?)
* Love meeting new people
* Cooperative in groups
* Empathetic, sensitive to others' moods
And (due to my unquestionable intrapersonal strength):
* Introverted
* Prefers working alone, independent
* Philosophical
* Perfectionistic
* Often thinks of self-employment
* Enjoys journaling
* Intuitive
* Spends time thinking and reflecting, self-aware, likes learning about self
So, this could go one of two ways. Either it's a bit of a joke since it's tough to be many points on both those lists, or I am up for just about anything.
Guess which option I'm picking?
Have a good weekend, everybody. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Speaking of Cameras...
Mine wanted to get out and enjoy the sun after work today. Here's what it found.
You can see the rest here.
You can see the rest here.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Choosing A Camera - The Basics
Well, anonymous asked a question about this in a comment a while back, and I think it deserves a post (or a few posts, likely) on its own. I've had a lot of friends ask over the last couple of years, and so it will help to get it here where anyone who wants it (and, unfortunately the poor guy researching Nickel in the periodic table who doesn't) can see it.
Here's the thing I don't like about blogs, though. If you're reading this today, or tomorrow, or before whenever it is that I will get the next installment up (which is hopefully not, as Ni pointed out, a week), it will all make sense. You'll read it, and then be ready for part II when it comes along.
For those of you who are finding it later... I'm sorry. Sorry that you have just read the post (or two, or three, or fifteen - I won't really know until I'm there, even though you've already been) that I'm going to write later, since they appear above this one in the page. It's all been fairly convoluted, I'm sure. You started with lenses before you even knew you wanted an SLR, or something like that. But it's not my fault... I have my emails with the new ones showing up at the bottom, and, if I could, I'd do my blog the same way.
But I can't. So, here we go.
So, maybe you're camera-less. Maybe you're shooting film. Maybe it's time for an upgrade, or maybe it's time to get serious. What do you do?
Well, you need to decide what you're going to buy. And what you're going to buy depends, really on three things:
digicam (above - some old ones) - a very compact, portable camera, the kind you can easily put in your pocket, usually 6-10 megapixels, 3x zoom
superzoom (above) - a camera that's a little less compact... the lens sticks out in the front, and it looks like the old-fashioned kind. It's called a superzoom because it has a long zoom ratio (usually more than 10x), but can't have different lenses attached
DSLR (above) - short for Digital Single Lens Reflex. These are usually not very compact, won't be fitting in your pocket, and feature lenses that can be changed. These range from 6 to 25 or so megapixels. Also known, to people who carry them, as a "big" camera, or "real" camera. Snobs.
Next: When, where, and how do you want to take pictures? And what of?
Here's the thing I don't like about blogs, though. If you're reading this today, or tomorrow, or before whenever it is that I will get the next installment up (which is hopefully not, as Ni pointed out, a week), it will all make sense. You'll read it, and then be ready for part II when it comes along.
For those of you who are finding it later... I'm sorry. Sorry that you have just read the post (or two, or three, or fifteen - I won't really know until I'm there, even though you've already been) that I'm going to write later, since they appear above this one in the page. It's all been fairly convoluted, I'm sure. You started with lenses before you even knew you wanted an SLR, or something like that. But it's not my fault... I have my emails with the new ones showing up at the bottom, and, if I could, I'd do my blog the same way.
But I can't. So, here we go.
So, maybe you're camera-less. Maybe you're shooting film. Maybe it's time for an upgrade, or maybe it's time to get serious. What do you do?
Well, you need to decide what you're going to buy. And what you're going to buy depends, really on three things:
- When, where, and how do you want to take pictures? And what of?
- What do you want to do with them once you have them?
- How much do you want to spend?
superzoom (above) - a camera that's a little less compact... the lens sticks out in the front, and it looks like the old-fashioned kind. It's called a superzoom because it has a long zoom ratio (usually more than 10x), but can't have different lenses attached
DSLR (above) - short for Digital Single Lens Reflex. These are usually not very compact, won't be fitting in your pocket, and feature lenses that can be changed. These range from 6 to 25 or so megapixels. Also known, to people who carry them, as a "big" camera, or "real" camera. Snobs.
Next: When, where, and how do you want to take pictures? And what of?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Euro-Music
First, sorry - it's been a long time. I've been thinking about writing, but been pretty busy and a little bit sick. In any case, I'm back!
I played at a concert this weekend that was remarkable. Not remarkable in the way that going to see U2 is remarkable, though... it's a different kind of thing.
It was billed as a gospel concert, which, in some respects it was. But in some respects, it wasn't.
It was a lot more R&B than gospel. I know that gospel and R&B share similar roots, but that doesn't make them the same. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that Europeans LOVE gospel. You can pretty much do any kind of music you want, but if you call it gospel and encourage them to clap on all four beats, it's almost guaranteed to be a success.
The opening band (that I was playing in) was rather definitely rock. Not much of a gospel sound. Okay, we're only the support act, but I would say that if neither of the groups plays the style in question, it's probably not a good idea to bill the concert as that style.
But I'm nit-picking.
There were really a couple of things that I found interesting.
First is how popular R&B-ish kind of music is in Christian circles. Maybe I'm the only one, but this music mostly makes me think of making out. Not to be vulgar, but that's just what it sounds like. And you can put "God" in the lyrics, but it still sounds like that. This was further complicated by the fact that, during a costume-change midway, the headliner played a video of one of her tunes. It wasn't really very tightly lip-synced, had special effects that reminded me very much of the Bananarama or some such 80's band, and featured her dancing against a wall and looking a lot like she was coming on to me.
Now, granted, my senses in this respect may not be that highly refined. I'm still in training. But I'm pretty sure that's what she was thinking of when she was recording it. Normally, this wouldn't bother me so much, but the combination of "come here, baby" in her eyes and "God, thank you for saving me" in her mouth kind of threw me off.
The other thing is just how white and... well, European it was. And how very, very non-anglophone.
This is the kind of thing that's hard to really explain until you can experience it. Part of it is the aforementioned clapping on every beat. 1-2-3-4.... 1-2-3-4... it's just wrong. It's marginally less wrong than 1 & 3, but still... wrong. Still, I can't blame that on her.
The part that makes it feel most like this, I think is the lyrics. I wish I could remember better examples, but how about this line:
She wasn't helped by the fact that she had the lyrics put up on a screen beside her. Have you ever noticed how songs - even good songs - can sound ridiculous when you read them? Well, if you start with something a little less than bring-a-tear-to-my-eye lyrics, that effect is kind of amplified.
The other thing was the she had a projectionist who had an actual film projector set up in the balcony. The minute I saw the guy, I knew it would be trouble. Very French, very hairy, very, very artsy. Surprisingly, the film was a constant barrage of people, slightly out of focus, running off the camera, water running, and similar evocative but, let's admit it, rather meaningless things. There was only one point in the whole show that I noticed any kind of link between what he was projecting and what she was singing about. And that was not exactly masterful... she was talking about running to God, and he showed a woman starting to run... and tripping. Over, and over and over. And, of course, slightly out of focus.
Is this bad? Not necessarily, if that's what you're looking for. The down-side (besides what he was showing) was that, in order to satisfy his artistic needs, the lights on the stage were really, really low. So you could see water flowing, slightly out of focus, and the woman falling down, but you couldn't see the face of the singer.
Hmmm.
I feel exceptionally inept at describing this. Maybe it was a bad idea to even try. If you were here, I could try to distract you with a little dance or something, or I could make you some popcorn or tell a joke to make up for it. Actually, I'm not good at jokes, but I could make really, really good popcorn.
Oh well.
I played at a concert this weekend that was remarkable. Not remarkable in the way that going to see U2 is remarkable, though... it's a different kind of thing.
It was billed as a gospel concert, which, in some respects it was. But in some respects, it wasn't.
It was a lot more R&B than gospel. I know that gospel and R&B share similar roots, but that doesn't make them the same. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that Europeans LOVE gospel. You can pretty much do any kind of music you want, but if you call it gospel and encourage them to clap on all four beats, it's almost guaranteed to be a success.
The opening band (that I was playing in) was rather definitely rock. Not much of a gospel sound. Okay, we're only the support act, but I would say that if neither of the groups plays the style in question, it's probably not a good idea to bill the concert as that style.
But I'm nit-picking.
There were really a couple of things that I found interesting.
First is how popular R&B-ish kind of music is in Christian circles. Maybe I'm the only one, but this music mostly makes me think of making out. Not to be vulgar, but that's just what it sounds like. And you can put "God" in the lyrics, but it still sounds like that. This was further complicated by the fact that, during a costume-change midway, the headliner played a video of one of her tunes. It wasn't really very tightly lip-synced, had special effects that reminded me very much of the Bananarama or some such 80's band, and featured her dancing against a wall and looking a lot like she was coming on to me.
Now, granted, my senses in this respect may not be that highly refined. I'm still in training. But I'm pretty sure that's what she was thinking of when she was recording it. Normally, this wouldn't bother me so much, but the combination of "come here, baby" in her eyes and "God, thank you for saving me" in her mouth kind of threw me off.
The other thing is just how white and... well, European it was. And how very, very non-anglophone.
This is the kind of thing that's hard to really explain until you can experience it. Part of it is the aforementioned clapping on every beat. 1-2-3-4.... 1-2-3-4... it's just wrong. It's marginally less wrong than 1 & 3, but still... wrong. Still, I can't blame that on her.
The part that makes it feel most like this, I think is the lyrics. I wish I could remember better examples, but how about this line:
(blah, blah, blah, it doesn't really matter)Now, I'm not 100% sure that unwritable isn't a word. But I do know that it's not a word I would ever use in a song. The lyrics were full of little things like this that, while they weren't necessarily "wrong", just weren't.... right. The music was good, actually - she's a pretty gifted writer, but the lyrics certainly had the babblefish kind of touch to them. Things that don't really rhyme unless they're sung with an accent that it would never occur to you to sing with.
You are indescribable,
(blah, blah, blah... something that wasn't supposed to rhyme)
Your love is unwritable
She wasn't helped by the fact that she had the lyrics put up on a screen beside her. Have you ever noticed how songs - even good songs - can sound ridiculous when you read them? Well, if you start with something a little less than bring-a-tear-to-my-eye lyrics, that effect is kind of amplified.
The other thing was the she had a projectionist who had an actual film projector set up in the balcony. The minute I saw the guy, I knew it would be trouble. Very French, very hairy, very, very artsy. Surprisingly, the film was a constant barrage of people, slightly out of focus, running off the camera, water running, and similar evocative but, let's admit it, rather meaningless things. There was only one point in the whole show that I noticed any kind of link between what he was projecting and what she was singing about. And that was not exactly masterful... she was talking about running to God, and he showed a woman starting to run... and tripping. Over, and over and over. And, of course, slightly out of focus.
Is this bad? Not necessarily, if that's what you're looking for. The down-side (besides what he was showing) was that, in order to satisfy his artistic needs, the lights on the stage were really, really low. So you could see water flowing, slightly out of focus, and the woman falling down, but you couldn't see the face of the singer.
Hmmm.
I feel exceptionally inept at describing this. Maybe it was a bad idea to even try. If you were here, I could try to distract you with a little dance or something, or I could make you some popcorn or tell a joke to make up for it. Actually, I'm not good at jokes, but I could make really, really good popcorn.
Oh well.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Can You Spare A Quarter
There are always people begging or busking outside the bank near my place. This is in a country where you can get a $1000 bill from an ATM, and $200's are so common you can use one to buy a pack of gum.
Hasn't it occurred to them that no one is going to be coming out of there with something small enough that they'll be willing to part with it?
"Hey, man, it's okay... I can make change..."
Hasn't it occurred to them that no one is going to be coming out of there with something small enough that they'll be willing to part with it?
"Hey, man, it's okay... I can make change..."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
At Least They Say Good-Bye
I haven't been everywhere. I suppose, if it comes down to it, that I haven't even been most places. But so far, I'm nominating Switzerland (maybe I should say Geneva) as having the worst customer service on the planet, except for the fact that they often say "hello" when you arrive and "good-bye" when you leave.
There are exceptions; every once in a while someone does something right. But it's rare.
Today was a typical example. I have been looking for a bag or backpack for camera stuff. I went to the biggest camera shop in town, called Photo Hall, to check it out and to ask about the price of a little adapter guy that magnifies an image by 2x.
Now, I can preface my story by saying that this: when I first purchased my camera, I was looking at online prices in Switzerland to try to shop wisely. I know that it's more here than in the US, but it wasn't too much of a difference. So I went into the aforementioned Photo Hall and told a guy what I was going to buy. I showed him the prices I could get it for in Zurich, and said that if he'd match the price, I would like to buy it from him.
He took my sheet, opened up his price list, wrote down the list price next to each of the prices on my sheet, did the total and handed it back to me, without saying a word.
"That's it?" I asked, "you won't move at all?". He just shook his head. I laughed, congratulated him on losing a sale but maintaining his honor, hoped almost sincerely that he would be able to make his rent payment out of his extra stored-up honor at the end of the month, and found the door.
So, my expectations weren't too high today.
First of all, the lens adapter thing (called a teleconverter). I went in and asked for the price, just out of curiosity. He looked at me suspiciously:
"For which lens?"
"Huh?" I was a bit surprised... I didn't think that there were multiple versions of it for different lenses. But I told him the lens I wanted to use it with.
"It doesn't work with that one," he said, "that lens only works with this teleconverter." And he pointed to another one (1.7x instead of 2x) that they happened to have in stock.
"Uh, no," I replied, "it works quite well with the 2x. I've seen the pictures."
"With autofocus? No, I don't think so".
I just shook my head. "What's the price, monsieur?"
Now, I can understand that, in technical issues, "the customer is always right" is a dangerous mantra to live by. But "the customer deserves a sliver of respect" may serve these guys well. In this case, I don't know if he was lying or just ill-informed, but he was most certainly wrong. I pity the people who go to this shop for advice without having done their own homework.
The good news, for me, is that they did have the backpack I have been wondering about in stock. I had a chance to try it on, see how the construction was, and check out how things would fit inside. Then I took a look at the price:
$540
Yes, you're reading that right. It's for a backpack... a backpack I can buy online for $150 or $160 pretty easily in the US or Canada.
I thought about asking for a discount, but decided I'd had enough fun for one day. Maybe I'll go back and inquire about it next week.
"Good-bye!"
There are exceptions; every once in a while someone does something right. But it's rare.
Today was a typical example. I have been looking for a bag or backpack for camera stuff. I went to the biggest camera shop in town, called Photo Hall, to check it out and to ask about the price of a little adapter guy that magnifies an image by 2x.
Now, I can preface my story by saying that this: when I first purchased my camera, I was looking at online prices in Switzerland to try to shop wisely. I know that it's more here than in the US, but it wasn't too much of a difference. So I went into the aforementioned Photo Hall and told a guy what I was going to buy. I showed him the prices I could get it for in Zurich, and said that if he'd match the price, I would like to buy it from him.
He took my sheet, opened up his price list, wrote down the list price next to each of the prices on my sheet, did the total and handed it back to me, without saying a word.
"That's it?" I asked, "you won't move at all?". He just shook his head. I laughed, congratulated him on losing a sale but maintaining his honor, hoped almost sincerely that he would be able to make his rent payment out of his extra stored-up honor at the end of the month, and found the door.
So, my expectations weren't too high today.
First of all, the lens adapter thing (called a teleconverter). I went in and asked for the price, just out of curiosity. He looked at me suspiciously:
"For which lens?"
"Huh?" I was a bit surprised... I didn't think that there were multiple versions of it for different lenses. But I told him the lens I wanted to use it with.
"It doesn't work with that one," he said, "that lens only works with this teleconverter." And he pointed to another one (1.7x instead of 2x) that they happened to have in stock.
"Uh, no," I replied, "it works quite well with the 2x. I've seen the pictures."
"With autofocus? No, I don't think so".
I just shook my head. "What's the price, monsieur?"
Now, I can understand that, in technical issues, "the customer is always right" is a dangerous mantra to live by. But "the customer deserves a sliver of respect" may serve these guys well. In this case, I don't know if he was lying or just ill-informed, but he was most certainly wrong. I pity the people who go to this shop for advice without having done their own homework.
The good news, for me, is that they did have the backpack I have been wondering about in stock. I had a chance to try it on, see how the construction was, and check out how things would fit inside. Then I took a look at the price:
$540
Yes, you're reading that right. It's for a backpack... a backpack I can buy online for $150 or $160 pretty easily in the US or Canada.
I thought about asking for a discount, but decided I'd had enough fun for one day. Maybe I'll go back and inquire about it next week.
"Good-bye!"
Saturday, April 19, 2008
9,000
Hey, we just passed 9,000 visitors. Thanks for reading, everyone. I think that when we get to 10,000, I'd like to have an ice-cream party.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Montreux 2008
Looks not bad this year: I'll be seeing Paul Simon, Sheryl Crow, and Alicia Keys.
I'll say hi for you.
I'll say hi for you.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Before You Knew Me...
... I was a fairy princess.
Crap: there it goes again.
No, that's not some bizarre confession, and no, you won't find related pictures on the internet. But it's a line from a Faith Hill song that I've had going through my head, on and off, for a month or so now. It's pretty catchy, and it's fun to sing.
Unfortunately, that results in me singing it. But mostly just the one line that I remember.
This wouldn't be so bad if I would "sing" it and not sing it. But there are no moderating factors here... I don't imagine it, don't kind of hum it. I sing it, with the words, out loud.
Tough to explain to people who don't know the song.
Oh well. In other news.... well, I don't have a lot of other news. I've had a cold for the past couple of weeks that, somehow, the little chick has managed to avoid (hooray, little chick!). I'm still wearing spring clothes, and spring is still not showing up. And I've tried red sauerkraut, but am not entirely happy with the results.
How have you been?
Crap: there it goes again.
No, that's not some bizarre confession, and no, you won't find related pictures on the internet. But it's a line from a Faith Hill song that I've had going through my head, on and off, for a month or so now. It's pretty catchy, and it's fun to sing.
Unfortunately, that results in me singing it. But mostly just the one line that I remember.
This wouldn't be so bad if I would "sing" it and not sing it. But there are no moderating factors here... I don't imagine it, don't kind of hum it. I sing it, with the words, out loud.
Tough to explain to people who don't know the song.
Oh well. In other news.... well, I don't have a lot of other news. I've had a cold for the past couple of weeks that, somehow, the little chick has managed to avoid (hooray, little chick!). I'm still wearing spring clothes, and spring is still not showing up. And I've tried red sauerkraut, but am not entirely happy with the results.
How have you been?
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